Chelsea is available for adoption through Misty Creek. ©www.brindleberrypetphoto.com

At Tail Blazers we recognize that although diet is one of the most important choices you can make for your pets, we also know that there are many other factors that contribute to a healthy and happy pet. Here are 10 of them!

1. Healthy Diet – Perhaps the most important decision you’ll make for your pets is what to feed them. It’s important to choose a diet free of species inappropriate ingredients like wheat, corn and soy. Their diet should also be free of chemicals; artificial preservatives, flavours, and colours; by-products, BHA and BHT, and more.

There are so many healthy options available now in the form of dry, canned, dehydrated, cooked, and raw foods (listed from most processed to least) the choices can be overwhelming. Variety is so important so why not mix and match your options?

Spring Meadows Raw Food

Visit our website and use the ingredient dictionary to find out what’s in your pet’s food and treats.

2. Vitamin Supplementation – When accompanied with a healthy diet, a daily multi-vitamin can be beneficial to prevent disease and increase life span just like it does for people. Many foods lose nutrients through cooking, making them harder to digest and harder for the body to utilize remaining nutrients.

There are also supplements that can help with specific health concerns like arthritis and joint degeneration, skin problems, allergies, and more. These supplements can increase your pet’s comfort level and lead to a higher quality of life.

Crystal is available for adoption through AARCS. ©www.brindleberrypetphoto.com

3. Active Lifestyle – Daily activity is a must for pets of all sizes and breeds. Large breed dogs require about 40 minutes of cardiovascular exercise a day, smaller breeds requiring 20-30 minutes a day.

Visiting dog parks, competitive dog sports, or a game of fetch are great ways to become active with your dog. Using interactive toys and providing climbing surfaces for cats can help indoor cats get their much-needed exercise.

Daily physical activity reduces unwanted behaviour, manages weight, reduces stress and anxiety, and combats disease.

4. Plenty of Mental Stimulation – Many working breeds such as border collies and terriers are now regularly seen inside the home as pets. When working breeds are unable to do the jobs they are bred to do, they can sometimes become stressed and destructive.

Paw Hide Toy

There are many problem solving and treat dispensing toys on the market now for both cats and dogs. These toys can keep your pet busy for hours, giving them some form of mental stimulation.

Ideally, if you have a working breed like a border collie, enroll them in a herding class. Tracking is a great sport for scent hounds like bloodhounds. There are a large variety of training classes that you can enroll your dog into to keep them learning!

5. Annual Check-Ups – Regular Vet visits help with early detection of tooth and gum disease. Your Vet will also do a thorough check for lumps and bumps, monitor your pet’s weight, and check your pet’s heart health.

6. Reduced Vaccinations– Up until recently, yearly vaccinations were recommended for

Tabu is available for adoption through AARCS. ©www.brindleberrypetphoto.com

dogs and cats. Now most Veterinarians recommend vaccine boosters every three years.

To prevent over-vaccination, many vets are now performing annual titers instead of regular vaccines. Titers measure levels of immune deficiencies with a simple blood test and should replace yearly boosters.

If your pet does require a booster, ask if they can be separated into single shots with only the antigens required instead of combo shots (cover numerous diseases with one injection) that may be unnecessary and hard on the body.

7. Dental Health – Over 80% of our pets are suffering with some form of gum disease. Gum disease can lead to more serious problems such as heart disease and tooth mobility. Gum disease can be prevented with daily brushing, healthy diet, and safely chewing on harder, chewable items such as raw bones. Pets should always enjoy chewing under your direct supervision.

8. Regular Grooming – Professional grooming prevents painful matting; reduces skin irritations, shedding, and hairballs; reduces allergic reactions in people and the likelihood of parasites and fungi. Groomers often find injuries and lumps that were previously undetected. Grooming is an essential, and often overlooked, part of your dog and cat’s whole health plan.

9. Chemical-Free Living Environment – Scented candles, harsh chemical cleaning solutions, cigarette smoke, etc, can all be harmful to the immune system. Using earth and pet friendly products will be better for both you and your pet!

Bear is available for adoption through Pound Rescue. ©www.brindleberrypetphoto.com

10. Stress-Free Living Environment – A home with tension between human inhabitants or inhabitants of the furry variety can lead to stress in your pet. There can often be tension between animals in a multiple pet household that we don’t even know about!

With cats you may notice a new habit of urinating or defecating outside of the litter box. With dogs you may notice excessive licking or other nervous behaviours. In homes with active children, ensure your pet has a place to go that only he is allowed to frequent like a crate set up in a low traffic area of the home.

Whole health for your pet is not dependant only on one or two of these components, but on all of them! Ensure you do the best you can to give your pet the opportunity to reach their full potential and live a long, healthy life!

The information provided in this article is not a substitute for regular veterinary care. Adoptable animals are posted as a courtesy; Tail Blazers is not affiliated with any specific shelter or rescue.

Keep your Christmas Tree Secured to Prevent Tipping

It would be tough to expect any cat to restrain themselves from climbing or scratching your Christmas tree. Safely secure the tree so it cannot be tipped over. Also, forgo the angel hair, tinsel and anything else your pet can ingest. These things can cause major digestive problems if swallowed. It is not a bad idea to wrap an X-Pen around your tree to prevent your dog from drinking stagnant tree water, eating pine needles, or from trying to play with breakable tree ornaments or presents.

Keep Holiday Food and Drink up and Away from Pets

Many foods that appear frequently around the holidays can be toxic or dangerous to pets. Some examples include: chocolate, coffee, onions, fatty foods, alcohol, grapes, raisins, cigarettes, cooked bones, etc. Remind guests to keep food and drink away from pets and refrain from feeding them goodies behind your back. Ensure that goodies are stowed in sealable containers and that garbage can lids are securely fastened or out of reach. Keep in mind that many people give chocolates as gifts, so you may have it sitting there right under your tree, waiting to make Fido sick.

Keep Holiday Plants out of Reach

Almost all Christmas plants like Holly, Mistletoe, Poinsettias, Lilies, are harmful or toxic to pets. Either consider fake plants or ensure they are kept safely out of reach of all pets.

Provide a Safe Haven for Your Pets

Remember that a change in your regular routine and the addition of holiday guests coming and going can be stressful for your pet. Always provide a place that your pet can go to get away from guests like a crate, an X-Pen, or a gated off room. They can still watch and listen and be part of the celebration, but can get away when they feel overwhelmed.

Keep Your Pet Occupied

If you want to keep Fido out of trouble when guests are over, or when you are unusually busy with holiday preparation, make sure you give him something to do! This is when bringing home treats like bully sticks, tendons, or raw bones would do the trick (always make sure to supervise with any chew). Or, perhaps try a new toy that dispenses treats when he plays with it. If the toy is new, it will still be fascinating enough to keep him busy at least for a little while!

Here are some VIDEO suggestions on how to keep your cat or dog busy!

Cat Treats and Toys

Treat Dispensing Toys

Do Not Give Pets as Presents

Last but not least, PLEASE DO NOT give a pet as a present. Because of the hectic and busy schedules most people have during the holidays, and because a change in environment for a new pet is hard enough, the holidays are a very inconvenient and stressful time to bring a new pet into the home.

If you really want to surprise a loved one, instead buy them gifts associated with a new pet – like a food bowl, a gift certificate to your favourite pet store, etc. This gives them the opportunity to either decline (some people who get surprised with animals do not really want one) or wait until they have sufficient time to dedicate to their new pet.

Most rescues and shelters put a freeze on adoptions at this time of year for this reason prompting many to consider buying pets from pet stores instead. Please do not allow those puppy dog eyes to persuade you – there are many reasons why getting pets from pet stores may be unethical so please do make sure you do your research first.

Featured Adoptable Pet – Beau

My name is Beau and I am a really good boy! I am approximately 2 years old, neutered, and house-trained. I like cats and dogs, but I do have some fears so I think a home without kids would probably be a better fit for me. I am really good offleash and like to play with my foster brothers and sisters at the dog park!

I know lots of tricks cause my foster mom is a dog trainer, and I would love it if we could take lessons together with her.

If you think you have the right home for me, it is my Christmas wish to come home in time for the holidays!

Contact Beagle Paws for more info about Beau (Joyro on their website).

The information provided in this article is not a substitute for regular veterinary care. Adoptable dogs are posted as a courtesy; Tail Blazers is not affiliated with any specific shelter or rescue.

Tail Blazers has been around for over ten years and this will be our first makeover! You can see why we are so excited for the refresher.

Our New Website

Our goal is to ensure that our website is always educating! You will find a very extensive “Learning Center” that will be growing as time goes on. Our “Helping Pets” section has a list of rescues in our local markets. Please email us at info@tailblazerspets.com if you know of one that we missed!

We included our very popular ingredient dictionary, and lots of information about our products (coming soon!) including a new “Eco Products” section.

Under “Contact Us” you will find bios of all store owners, and also a “Charitable Requests” form. We also have an “Events” section with pet related activities in our local markets. If you have an event you think might fit, please email info@tailblazerspets.com with all the necessary details.

Thinking of owning a franchise of your own? Find all the info you need under our “Own a Franchise” section!

If you find a technical/website problem, grammatical/spelling error, or have a question or comment about the site, please email the webmaster at sara@tailblazerspets.com.

Bookmark the new site at www.tailblazerspets.com.

Our New Blog

Holly is available for adoption!

Blogs are a great way to communicate immediately with our customers over such things as recalls, new products, closures and more. Although Facebook works wonderfully for most of these things, sometimes we just need the space to elaborate. (or maybe give a plug for a beautiful animal looking for a furr-ever home! wink wink)

If you have a topic or ailment you would like us to discuss on our blog, please write to holly@tailblazerspets.com for consideration.

Subscribe to our blog at www.tailblazerspets.com/blog

Our New Logo

We are so proud of our new logo! We were going for a more fresh and clean look with this logo to reflect the changes we have undergone over the past 11 years. We chose green and brown because it has always been one of our core values to respect Mother Nature in all forms – not just the four leggeds! Green and brown are excellent colours to represent all things “natural”.

We wanted to make sure that we represented all ages with our senior kitty, and our baby puppy.

We would absolutely love to hear your feedback, and we’d love it if you would subscribe to our blog! As always, you can “like us” on Facebook and “follow us” on Twitter. Look for all our social media links in the top right hand corner of our new website at www.tailblazerspets.com.

Happy learning!!